What are SSL Certificates & Why Do You Need One?

What are SSL Certificates & Why Do You Need One?

An SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificate is a digital certificate that authenticates the identity of a website and encrypts information sent to the server using SSL technology. Encryption is the process of scrambling data into an undecipherable format that can only be returned to a readable format with the proper decryption key.

A certificate serves as an electronic “passport” that establishes an online entity’s credentials when doing business on the Web. When an Internet user attempts to send confidential information to a Web server, the user’s browser accesses the server’s digital certificate and establishes a secure connection.

An SSL certificate contains the following information:

The certificate holder’s name

The certificate’s serial number and expiration date

A copy of the certificate holder’s public key

The digital signature of the certificate-issuing authority

It’s relatively straightforward to obtain an SSL certificate and install them on your web server. While this is possible to do even if you’re not too familiar with IT, it’s probably a good idea to engage one of our highly skilled developer for this task.

Not convinced you need an SSL certificate for your site? Here’s a quick summary of what implementing SSL encryption on your site will provide:

Better SEO ranking. SSL and HTTPS are not only valuable to security, but they’re also going to be helpful when it comes to SEO, ecommerce, and visual notifications about the security of a page in Google Chrome. The Google Security Team announced that the 56th version of Google Chrome will visually alert users when they’re not on a secure website with an SSL certificate.

Safer, more secure data transfer between servers, with less chance of interception

Increased trust with customers

SSL is required for Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance.

For information about installing SSL on your website, please call us on 0412 568 026 or email us at info@tadigital.com.au